Fitness Coach

October 31, 2015

Know Why Non-Yogis Should Stretch And How – Nathaniel Wilkins

Yoga’s unique dynamics mainly involve stretching, focus and putting one into a meditative state to achieve balance and harmony, to the internal and external environment. Although stretching is heavily associated with yoga, however, this routine is not exclusive to them, nor to the athletes but for people like you and me.

Importance of Stretching

Stretching is done before the exercise and during the cooling down period or after the exercise. The need to stretch, especially before any activity, is crucial because the lack of it may cause some discomforts or some health issues.

As you stretch, the muscle is prep for the activities that you are going to undertake. The muscle is enclosed by a connective tissue, which protects the muscle from any activity-related injury. Now, when the muscle is not stretched the risk of having it strained is high, because some tissues and ligaments may have already adhered to some to other connective tissues. Now, when you stretch, it improves the circulation, which throws some of the tissues away from each other.

Stretching your muscles becomes flexible, not rigid and stiff, allowing your body not to be over trained or overtax.

Here are some of the simple stretching exercises.

The goal when you stretch is to hold your position for a certain time, to feel a slight pull of the muscle. Bouncing and doing unnecessary movement is not required here, only a pure stretch.

Chest Stretching

The chest stretch requires you to lie flat on a surface or exercise bench and take a dumbbell that you can carry and do start lifting them in a contracted position. You can repeat for 12 times or depending on your capacity. Over doing the exercise can cause the muscle to get strained, so follow what your trainer has suggested.

Abdomen

The seated butterfly stretch is a good stretching exercise for the abdomen. Start by sitting upright on the ground, flex your knees and then bring your knees together, and pull your feet towards your bottom, while putting your elbows inside your knees. Start pushing your legs to the floor and then hold.

Hamstring Stretch

This is for those who do brisk walking, athletes who are into running, swimming, biking and many more. With this kind of stretching exercise, hamstring spasticity is avoided, improving your performance to whatever sports or physical activities you are into.

There are many stretching exercises for the non-yogis to follow. For every muscle part, there is a corresponding stretching routine to follow. Your trainer can help you design a stretching exercise for you to follow at home or at the gym.